2 days ago
Michael Furlong's killing: Son calls for stricter rules after Western Sydney dad's killer found not guilty by mental illness absconded
A man whose dad had his throat slashed by a random stranger is calling for killers to be forced to wear electronic ankle bracelets while walking amongst us in the community.
Luke Furlong also wants people like his dad's killer, who was found not guilty on the grounds of mental illness, to have minimum terms set - just like in the criminal system.
The police officers who helped catch Michael Furlong's killer agree wholeheartedly with Luke, saying lawmakers need to step up to better protect victims and their families.
Luke was just a kid when a stranger slit his dad's throat on the side of the road outside an electronics store in Sydney's west.
His dad didn't stand a chance, ambushed by a man who struck up a conversation pretending he had crashed into his car and damaged the bumper bar.
But really, he was under the delusion that the much-loved Sydney dad was part of some AFP conspiracy to bug him and monitor his conversations. He sliced Mr Furlong's throat with a large Bowie knife, then chased after his brother who ran for his life.
He returned to find Mr Furlong, who'd managed to stagger a few metres, collapsed at the steps of the electronics store.
A few hours later, the killer was found asleep in a stolen car in Centennial Park. The blood-stained knife and Mr Furlong's wallet were inside.
The killer was eventually found not guilty of murder on the grounds of mental illness.
As if the ghastly killing wasn't enough, Luke and his family were thrown into a fresh hell five years ago when Mr Furlong's killer absconded from a facility in country NSW while on day release.
They lived in fear for two days until police tracked him down at the Holiday Inn in Parramatta, more than, 200 kilometres away thanks to a tip-off from a hotel employee.
Luke is demanding stricter rules for killers who are found not guilty on grounds of mental illness.
He wants patients to be forced to wear ankle bracelets when on community release and believes there should be mandatory periods set - much like in the criminal system - for killers to remain detained before being allowed on day release.
'I think we have to trust the judiciary but there should be a mandatory period set because these killers are allowed out on day release within a few years but at the end of the day they have still taken a life,' he said.
'Every six months my family has to go through the emotion of knowing he will again be considered for changes to his conditions. You need to give the families time to get through the mourning, the loss but every six months they are hit with it too.
'We are lucky, we have had 23 years of him being locked up but in other cases killers are out on day release within a few years. And families every six months have to prepare themselves that that might be the case.
'It's not putting the victims first, it's putting the killers first.'
Twenty-two years after his father's murder, Luke and his mum Colline met with the detectives who worked on Mr Furlong's murder - former detectives Scott Rogan and Peter Hogan, who co-host the True Crime Podcast Watching Two Detectives.
'The experience was really like no other. To finally sit and meet the men who put my father's killer behind bars and get the real facts about what happened that day from the men who worked effortlessly on the case was more healing than any therapy ever could be,' he said.
The two former police officers agree the system favours killers over victims' families.
'I think having a minimum 10 to 15 year period is appropriate, then after that, once a killer applies for release and is denied, they shouldn't be allowed to apply again for another two years,' Mr Hogan said.
'Watching what Luke and his family have gone through, time and time again, having to prepare submissions for hearings and face the reality his dad's killer could walk free it's too much. It's unfair. Where is the justice?'
Mr Rogan agreed, saying a mandatory period would also allow doctors and specialists to make sure treatment regimes are working.
'We need to do things that give peace of mind to families.'
All agreed ankle bracelets are a 'no brainer' and a simple step to bring that assurance to families.
'My dad's killer was wandering out in the public and police can't even say please be on the lookout this person is a killer,' Luke said.
'At least if they had ankle bracelets, and they went where they shouldn't or stayed out when they should be back, why can't they have an alarm on them so they would at least alert the public that something is up. It might make them think twice.'
'This is not a popular thing to say but whether dad's killer was mentally fit at the time or not, whether all killers are, they need to understand what they did was wrong if they want to be out in society.
'I think part of their rehabilitation really needs to be that they really are made to understand what happened and the effects it has had on people's families, and they need to own it.'
Parliamentary Secretary for Health Dr Michael Holland told NSW Parliament last year the Government does not support imposing a condition that forensic patients must be subject to electronic monitoring while absent.
He said the system, in its current state, 'provides appropriate protections to the community' and the 'scale and application of electronic monitoring would be entirely new to the justice and forensic mental health system. It would require thorough analysis to understand the operational, legal and financial feasibility.'
Minister for Mental Health Rose Jackson described Luke's story as 'heartbreaking'.
'No family should have to experience what his did, and I want to acknowledge their courage in continuing to speak out and push for change,' Ms Jackson said.
The NSW Government introduced significant legislative reforms last year to strengthen protections for victims and the community, including stricter requirements and greater judicial oversight for those found not guilty by reason of mental illness.
'This includes greater scrutiny around decisions made relating to day release,' Ms Jackon said.
'The scale and application of electronic monitoring in this context would be entirely new to the justice and forensic mental health system. It raises complex legal, clinical and operational questions that would need careful and thorough analysis.'
The Minister said the NSW Government 'remains committed to listening and to continuing the difficult but necessary work of strengthening our systems to protect victims and uphold community safety'.
